one day long after the gold excitement in california had subsided, a strange craft sailed into san francisco bay flying a flag different from any other ship in the harbor. it was a yellow satin banner showing the imperial double eagles of the russian czar, and the guns at the forts fired a royal salute as the vessel passed by on its way to the wharf. on board was a man empowered by the czar to sell alaska to the united states, and waiting on shore to greet him was a senator who was appointed to make an offer for the territory.
"you are very welcome, my friend," said the senator, grasping the hand of the diplomat, as he came ashore. "your arrival gives my countrymen much pleasure, and i earnestly hope that we may be able to make the ties of friendship between your people and mine very much stronger."
"his majesty, the czar, charged me to make plain to you his sentiments of good will and his desire to render your government a service."
the two men pushed their way through the crowd and were soon being driven rapidly toward the senator's residence. after dinner that evening, while sitting by the fire the diplomat said: 263
"do you know the russian story of the discovery of alaska, the great land, as we called it?"
"no," replied the senator, "i do not. i only know that it was a curious freak of fortune that your people should be the ones to discover the fabled 'straits of anian' so long sought by the spaniards, portuguese and english navigators. bering's sea is very far from india, but it is the famous northwest passage, that separates asia from america." the diplomat said:
"while europe was exploring and settling the americas my countrymen were throwing off the yoke that made them subjects of the khans of tartary. even at that time we had a great caravan trade with china and persia, but our merchants suffered severely from the depredations of the cossack freebooters roaming over the steppes of siberia. these reckless horsemen would charge down on a caravan and rob it of all its silks, spices, teas and perfumes."
"then you can sympathize with the galleons of spain that were harassed by the buccaneers and pirates infesting the high seas ready to scuttle and sink any ship that fell into their hands," said the senator, greatly interested.
"our merchants had no redress and they complained bitterly to peter the great, who immediately undertook to chastise the unruly cossacks. they fled into siberia, and it was not long before they found rich silver mines on the amoor river, and began to traffic in the ivory and sable skins which make that vicinity notable. as they 264 advanced toward the pacific ocean they were able to slaughter herds of musk oxen, and before many years the fame of the ivory deposits brought hundreds of adventurers into that barren region. diligent inquiry among the natives disclosed the fact that there was a great land toward the north pole where remains of the hairy elephant were plentiful, and its beautiful tusks were heaped up in huge mounds."
"it was a desire for gold that brought the first white men to california," said the senator, "and the building of the railroad across the continent is the result of having found it."
"ivory and furs were the lure that nerved the russian freebooter to brave the frozen sea and six months of night," said the diplomat. "they went to sea in open boats made of planks tied together with rawhide straps and thongs. their sails were of soft dressed reindeer skins, and in place of rope they used elk skin strips. the anchors were pieces of wood weighted with stones. they had no beds, and carried a wooden plate and spoon tied to the sash around their waists."
"they must have suffered very much from cold and hunger," said the senator.
"they did; and many of them died with scurvy. they were greatly hindered by glaciers and icebergs, and would never have been able to make the journey at all except for the sleds and dogs furnished by the natives."
"were the eskimos and aleuts always 265 friendly?" asked the senator. the diplomat hesitated for a moment, then said with a smile:
"the freebooters found it necessary to fight after they had once ill-treated the natives. at first the white men were supposed to be superior beings, but they proved themselves unworthy of confidence and then there was serious trouble."
"we have had a somewhat similar experience in dealing with the indians in this country," replied the senator.
"in one of the numerous attempts made by the freebooters to reach the great land, they fell in with some japanese castaways who claimed to have found gold and silver there in abundance. when this was reported to peter the great he organized a scientific and military expedition under bering to find alaska, with the hope that it would lead to commercial relations with america and japan."
"it seems a hard fate that bering should die of scurvy in the winter when all was dark as night and exceedingly cold," said the senator.
"yes," answered the diplomat, "especially after he had survived the six weary years of hardship and toil necessary to march across siberia. it is possible that he would have failed at last had he not noted the flight of the land birds and known that there must be a shore-line not far away."
"did he or his family profit by the discoveries he made?"
"very little. it has been the fate of all the russian explorers in america to die poor," 266 responded the diplomat. "it has cost my government vast sums of money and more than two hundred years have elapsed since the first efforts were made. we have profited greatly by the seal fisheries and so will your people when once alaska becomes a territory of the united states."
"it has always been a puzzle to me why the czar recalled the russian colonists living in peace and prosperity in california under spanish rule," said the senator, after a pause.
"it was because he wished to maintain friendly relations with the united states and he was far-sighted enough to see that california would some day come under the american flag. it is to increase that feeling that he now offers to sell alaska to you. he does not wish to have any possessions on this continent. the destiny of russia lies in another direction."
both the senator and diplomat went to see the president and it was not very long until the purchase was made. when the senator came back from washington he said:
"we have paid exactly two cents an acre for alaska, and its seal fisheries are well worth that amount. we will not have to fight for its possession, and i am certain that we have made a good bargain."
since then many men have sailed into the northern waters and come back with cargoes of whale oil, or seal skins or canned salmon, but no one paid any particular attention to them. a party of scientific men explored the yukon river which 267 is as long and as wide as the mississippi and made the ascent of mount st. elias, one of the loftiest peaks in north america, but nobody was interested in alaska except as a place where the sun shines for six months and then leaves the whole country in partial darkness for another six months.
imagine the sun apparently traveling around in a little circle all the time. there are no sunrises and no sunsets, and no need of lights at night. then when it goes down, lamps or candles must be burned all the time. when the extreme cold comes the aurora borealis sends out splendid rays of many colored lights to burnish up the vault of heaven and make a grand electrical display.
the eskimos are a dwarfed race of men and women with flat noses, and eyes wide apart, and they dress themselves in heavy furs with the hair turned next to the body. they live on fish and whale blubber, and are experts in throwing a spear or managing a skin canoe. in front of their homes they have curious totem poles to show what tribes they belong to, and they are quite ingenious in weaving fish-nets, baskets, and in the carving of silver and ivory.
for many years no news came from alaska, except by ship, and on a warm, sunny day in autumn not long ago, some sailors set up the cry:
"gold has been found in alaska! it is the new el dorado! it is richer than california!"
at first people did not believe them, but when the experts passed upon the findings everybody said: 268
"let us go to the klondike! we can get rich in a few months."
the excitement was so great that it did no good to point out the hardships and dangers of such an undertaking.
"we will take the chances of freezing," they said, carelessly. "we can walk over the mountain passes and we do not care about the discomforts."
"but only a few can find the gold. it was the same in california. not one in a thousand can possibly bring away as much gold as he takes with him to live on, for food will be very scarce and high priced," urged the prudent ones.
"you will freeze," said others, "or will die with scurvy, or be eaten by those terrible white polar bears and wolves."
"no matter what you say to us we are going," was the reply, and every ship that could be found was loaded with eager men, and some venturesome women bent upon wresting the gold from the frozen north. many of them had never seen an iceberg or a glacier, and had no idea what misery awaited them.
"write us as soon as you can," said the wives and mothers tearfully, as they stood on the wharf in some seaport of the pacific saying good by to some loved one, going to seek a fortune.
"it will be six months before this ship can return," said the captain of one of the first ships that carried gold seekers to alaska in answer to an anxious inquiry as to how long it will be before the promised letters could arrive. 269
"why will you be so long?" asks some little boy or girl whose heart is sad at parting with their beloved father.
"because the great ice-floes will close in on our vessel and we will not be able to move until the weather moderates."
"then will you bring my father back to me?" asks the simple child.
"i hope so, my dear," and then the kindly face of the captain looks serious and he mutters to himself, "god forbid that it should be a grave instead of a fortune that awaits this child's father."
the first season many a brave man sailed away, full of hope and expectancy, but the next year returned haggard, worn and in some instances a hopeless invalid.
"what do you think of the gold fields of alaska?" asks his old friends as they shake his hand.
"it is a place to suffer and grow old in; a place to lose the earnings of a lifetime, and your health with them. in the long, dreary, dark nights the stoutest heart loses courage, and next to longing for home is the longing for death."
if he were one of the fortunate few who found the grains of free gold deposited in the frozen sands, he had a sobered, prematurely old look and said:
"yes, i have made money in the gold fields of alaska, but i hope i may never be obliged to go back and live in the mines." 270
strewn along the trail and over the chilkoot pass are the bleaching bones of those who sacrificed their lives in the effort to reach the new el dorado. the simple eskimos looked on in wonder at the frantic energy of their white brothers, and were content in their own security.
the ice queen is their guardian and she punishes those who venture into her frigid realm to unearth and carry away the hidden treasures. in alaska, as everywhere else, one must work hard and build up the country instead of robbing it, if money is really to be made. the late comers have already learned this lesson, by experience, and are beginning to build railroads, good houses, schools and churches in the warmest and most fertile part of the country surrounding the seaports.
and we know at last that el dorado exists solely in the hearts and minds of men, and not in the everlasting snows of alaska.
eskimos
